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Odyssey’s Hiking Holidays

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I am Judith Vinkesteijn from the Netherlands and I am very excited to share with you that in cooperation with Odyssey, I will start hosting our brand-new hiking holidays in 2021! I will tell you all about it on this blog and hope you feel inspired to join us, so we can enjoy Poros and its beautiful surroundings together by foot. In my opinion the best way to experience Greece!

How I discovered Odyssey

There are 3 things I love: Greece, cooking and hiking. Years ago, when I was looking online for a new holiday experience, I typed 2 words in the search engine: cooking and Greece. A holiday popped up on my screen that offered a Greek cooking course on Poros island. It sounded very interesting so my husband and I booked it. That’s how we encountered Odyssey for the first time and met Katerina and Rik. Soon we were sold; we loved everything about it; the cooking class, the apartments, the bistro, the sweet owners, and especially the hiking.

Many returns to Odyssey

The following year we came back, and ever since I try to return at least once a year, but I prefer 2 or 3 times! Mostly I and my husband, and sometimes one of our children, take cooking classes, other times we pick olives but we always go hiking. Still we find new spots every single time. We discovered the beautiful hill above Poros-town with the magnificent view, the path through the forest to the Poseidon temple, the path to the lighthouse and much more.

Teaming up with Katerina

Returning to Odyssey every year not only made me feel incredibly welcome, but it also made me feel like part of a family. Two of my friends decided to check out Odyssey and later more friends joined me in my adventures on Poros and Galatas. Katerina and I became friends. Maybe because we are the same age, our mothers are the same age and our daughters are the same age? I have come to know Poros so well during all these years of exploring it with Katerina, we thought it would be a great idea to ‘join forces’ and offer our special hiking holidays.

Great variety of hiking routes

Luckily, I was able to return to Poros during this difficult year dominated by the Coronavirus. During these visits I set out beautiful hiking routes in Galatas, Poros and beyond and created a program with Katerina. During my hikes you get to see amazing scenery and views, smell the wild herbs, pine trees and the sea, and enjoy silence. You will fully experience Greece in ways you haven’t before.

One of the hiking trails will be on Sferia, the smaller of the 2 islands comprising Poros, where we will walk on the hill above Poros-town. Katerina will accompany us during our walk in Poros-town, during which she will share her stories and knowledge of the village. Two other walks will be on Kalavria, the bigger island of Poros. There we hike to the lighthouse, a quiet spot where you can see the boats pass by, and all the way up to the Poseidon temple, one of the most magical places on Poros situated on a mountain top surrounded by pine forests. From there you can see all the way to Athens on a clear day.

Hiking on Hydra island

On the mainland we visit the beautiful volcanic peninsula of Methana and we hike near Galatas to enjoy the spectacular views over Poros. We will also visit another island: Hydra. This beauty is known for its connection to art, the fact that it’s car-free and the jet set life; Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen once lived on the island and Mick Jagger and the Dutch Princess Margriet visit it frequently. On Hydra we will walk to the Profitis Ilias, a monastery on top of a mountain.

Hydra

Greek cooking class

Because we are in Greece and staying at the Odyssey you get to enjoy amazing food. We will have a great start to our days with the delicious Odyssey breakfast, a meze-style dinner the first night and 4 more dinners at the Odyssey Bistro. The other meals will be a nice picnic or a great restaurant meal on Poros. More than all this, we will join Katerina in a mini-cooking class! She will teach us how to prepare traditional Greek dishes. Afterwards, we will eat them all together in the Odyssey Bistro.

Odyssey’s hiking holidays

Next year our first hiking holiday will start on March 27 and more dates will follow in 2021. The programme and more information can be found here and here (Dutch version).

Katerina and I hope to welcome you!!

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